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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24035554">Destiny Transcends Lifetimes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ragarcye/pseuds/Ragarcye'>Ragarcye</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Miraculous Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/M, Fate &amp; Destiny, Meet-Cute, One Shot, Past Lives</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 15:21:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,954</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24035554</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ragarcye/pseuds/Ragarcye</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>In which it took lifetimes to finally bring the two together.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>66</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>May 2020 - Past Holders</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Destiny Transcends Lifetimes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Destiny transcends lifetimes. Soul is only a medium in which destiny commands, thus the body--a slave to the soul--is a mere reflection of destiny's desires. And oh, destiny had special plans for special souls.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'm not going to let destiny define who I am!" Shouted Piáo Chóng as her long hair fluttered in candlelight, throwing the betrothal gifts out the window.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She ran down the hall and out the house, not minding that her clothes soiled as it dragged on the ground. Gaping mouths and wide eyes followed her, stunned, only the man that was to marry her ran after her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Is it really that bad marrying me?" Hēi Māo asked in-between his heavy breaths, finally catching up to her as she stopped atop her favorite hill.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Piáo leaned against a tree as she crossed her arms at the panting Hēi. "I just really wanted to show my parents I wasn't like the kid they used to order around. I'm sorry for your bad luck, getting engaged to a girl like me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hēi grinned, "You can't call it bad luck if it's a girl as interesting as you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Spare me your flattery, Hēi," she rolled her eyes. "We both know I'll just be one of your concubines. I want to live my own life."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The full moon gazed upon the young couple. Songs of hidden insects and the humming of a nearby river filled the air while they stared at each other in silence. A glance between the two childhood friends used to be enough to tell a whole story, but their worried faces and dim light hid their feelings from one another.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What do you want?" Hēi asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"What?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I asked, what do you want?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Want what?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Want to convince you to marry me."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Piáo closed her eyes and put her hand to her cheek as she thought for an answer.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Love," she simply said. "Unconditional love."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Done!" Hēi's enthusiastic eyes seemed to shine in the moonlight. "I'll take no other concubine, that way we could love each other, just the two of us."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She grabbed the neck of his clothing and pulled him closer to her. "Are you an idiot?! If you'll only take one concubine, that's basically political suicide! You won't be able to form relationships with other families!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"So? At least I'll have you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You're hopeless." She let go off his clothing and turned around. "No thanks."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why not? You wanted love; I'll give you love!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The problem is, Hēi, I don't love you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was a lie. The moon rose and shone brighter than it did before, and their faces were clear in the moonlight. Pleading eyes and a troubled smile, Piáo had convinced herself of this lie to protect him as much as it did to protest her independence, and he knew nothing he said would have changed her mind. The best he could do was to support her however he can.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Okay," he smiled back. "I'll convince my parents to cancel the engagement."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you, Hēi." Her heart ached as his name felt a little bit too right on her lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Destiny made it so that these souls would help the world. Miraculous jewels, no matter what lifetime, seemed to stumble upon their hands. Their first lives as Hēi and Piáo were no exception, becoming the first holders of the cat and ladybug miraculous.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Now that we can protect ourselves, what do you say we..." Hēi tilted his head back and forth, smiling in his lady's direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In response, Piáo shook her head. "It's too dangerous."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Dangerous? We literally have all the power in the world! China is safe! No one is there to challenge our peace!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Our lives are dedicated to the Order of the Guardians and to the people. There will always be others seeking to use the jewels for their own gain."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And we should sacrifice our own happiness for that?" He asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She paused before speaking again. "Yes."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two didn't work well after that conversation. It wasn't long before Hēi retired as the black cat and left to live the rest of his life in obscurity. Piáo was never the same, she put responsibilities before anything else and never loved, angry at Hēi for leaving her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As if Destiny remembered the animosity in their first life, they were born to be enemies in the next.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I've come to seek your jewel, in the name of Admete!" Herakles proclaimed in the throne room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"And if I do not yield?" Asked Hippolyta, the queen of the amazons.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Then we shall fight."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hippolyta laughed at the man wearing the lion's mane. "A fight between miraculous wielders? This should be interesting."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She quickly threw her yo-yo around him, binding him to stay still. Amazons around them prepared spears to throw at the bound Herakles.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stand down, warriors. You will only get hurt if you try and attack."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Herakles grinned. "Good to know," he said as he unbounded himself from the yo-yo string with pure strength. "Your ladybug miraculous may be tricky, but it is nothing compared to my strength."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He charged at Hippolyta and threw a punch. She dodged to the side, and he followed with a hook. She dodged to the back, and he followed with an uppercut. She dodged again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh dear, what use is your strength if you can't land a punch?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You don't seem to understand, queen," Herakles' eyes shined gold. "You're the one at the disadvantage."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He threw a punch to Hippolyta's head, but she swiftly dodged again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Lion's roar!" He bellowed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Weapons clattered on the floor as the Amazonian warriors were thrown back to the walls of the room. Hippolyta who managed to dodge the punch, felt a blunt force connect to her face before she was sent flying.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I know that your power isn't used for combat, Hippolyta. Give it up."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Herakles," she spat blood to the side. "All you managed to give me is a nosebleed. Why should I give up?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If that is your resolve, then so be it." He took a spear attached to his waist and aimed at the queen in the back of the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unafraid, Hippolyta laughed. "Look up."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ceiling was falling onto Herakles. He looked around. He hadn't noticed, but Hippolyta dodged in such a way that he damaged the columns that held the ceiling above them. Herakles looked back at the queen, but she was gone. A certain laughter made him look behind him. It was Hippolyta, just outside the building, holding the yo-yo in her hand. The structure collapsed upon him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Lion's roar!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, rubbles made way for a man to stand in the middle of the ruins of the throne room. "I'm not that easily beaten, Hippolyta."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Herakles took aim at her and threw the spear. If she reacted a millisecond later before using her yo-yo to redirect the spear to the ground, she would've been impaled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Amazons! Make haste! Leave the battlefield! This is only between the two of us."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She cursed herself, if only there were trees or buildings she could use and swing up on to get an advantage, but they were in an empty field. She could run and lead Herakles to a place where she'd have an advantage, but then she’d be vulnerable to getting speared from the back. This was going to be a fight of endurance and stamina, she thought.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I have that endurance and stamina,” Herakles spoke.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They fought until sunset.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Herakles charged at her with unrelenting punches, and Hippolyta dodged each, hitting back whenever there was an opening.  Cut and bruises covered their bodies as they continued to fight, breathing the heavy cold air of the afternoon.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I respect you, queen. I must apologize.  If we were born to better circumstances, we could’ve been friends,” Herakles said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we could’ve been,” she said as she smashed a rock onto his side with her yo-yo.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give up already! I will not kill you if you surrender!” Herakles took the hit and threw his spear once more, finally hitting Hippolyta’s foot. She screamed, pinned to where she stood. Herakles approached her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She took her yo-yo and used to throw another large piece of ruble. It missed him; the pain of her foot was messing her aim.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will never give my miraculous to you,” she spat at his chest when he finally stood over her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps in our next life, we could be friends.” Herakles took his spear and quickly stabbed it at her stomach before she was able to move. He sighed as he plucked the jewels from her ears. He wondered why tears were forming in her eyes, why would he cry for an enemy?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was only one of his adventures, he reminded himself, but why did Hippolyta seem so familiar to him?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Herakles, he wasn’t a good man. His soul was untainted, but the experiences of the body made him cruel in this lifetime. Indeed, if only he had decided to talk with the Amazonian queen, they would’ve become good comrades and go on to adventure together.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Perhaps it was a punishment then, that these two souls didn’t cross paths for several lifetimes. That of Hēi and Herakles was always born into poverty, struggling to live through his lifetimes. While the Piáo and Hippolyta, rewarded for her honor, born to riches and comfort.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While Robinhood robbed the rich and did what he could to help himself and those like him, a merchant forgotten by history was well-loved by her town as she treated everyone with kindness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As Joan of Arc, his soul was born to peasants and she fought for France, while another soul became a publisher, comfortable with the life he led in sharing new ideas.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lives upon lives, they lived apart, their actions affecting the other by one way or another, but they never met, never directly. It wasn’t long before destiny ordered their paths cross again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was raining. Only the two of them were there, and Adrien finally has his chance to apologize for what had happened. Marinette looked to her side, avoiding eye contact, her school bag in her hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sighs and opens his umbrella. “I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat. I swear.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette finally looked in his direction.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never been to school before. I’ve never had friends. It’s all sort of, new to me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien smiled, turned around, and tilted his umbrella to her direction, offering it to her. Their gazes met, her blueberry and his sea-green eyes, watching each other intently. The sky rumbled as Marinette reached to take the umbrella, almost startling herself at the warmth of his fingers. He handed it over to her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There were seconds spent as they just looked. Then the umbrella closed itself on Marinette’s head.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Adrien laughed. She was adorable. Marinette peeked through the umbrella, and seeing his chuckling face, started laughing too.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See you tomorrow,” he said before he turned around and walked to the car.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Marinette dropped her bag as she put a hand up to wave goodbye. “Uh-huh! See you to- mo- tomor- why am I stammering?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A small giggle flew to her cheek and hugged her. “I think I might have an idea,” Tikki said as Marinette blushed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First day of school and we already have two lovebirds,” Plagg teased Adrien from his breast pocket.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whatever, she’s just a friend.” Adrien couldn’t help it but smile to himself. “A friend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A friend.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>These two souls were made for each other, yes, but as destiny has it, perhaps it’ll take a few more lifetimes to get further than just <em><span>a friend.</span></em></span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is my first try at writing a one shot. I hope you enjoyed!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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